Reflected
by Desuchi
Summary: Was it even normal for it to be this cold on a summer night? Of course not. But for the sake of keeping his sanity intact, he refused to believe that the abnormally cold temperatures and the unsettling feelings of being watched were connected. "After all…you and I are the same person, no?" Alternate sequel to Adding Colors. PT x AT.


**A.N. Because even I can get bored to the point of painting my nails in front of my computer as I watch my Fanfiction guildies rant on Skype.**

**Hello everyone, as you all know, I am the extremely lazy authoress Desuchi who does not know the meaning of updates. Just in case anyone was fortunate enough to forget who I was, now you get to remember who I am again c;**

**Also, shout-out to SeouLee, who found me in-game and is now part of the Fanfiction guild and Skype! I think her image of me as a "beautiful authoress" completely shattered after seeing how much of a lunatic I am as both a pvper and a conversationalist. Poor baby.**

**And shout-out to Metrocards, since I lost mine and got this idea while turning my room upside down looking for it. The Metrocard will make a special appearance in this fic in honor of my inspiration.**

**Going back to the story, this isn't very special. It's just another short fic (more than a drabble, less than a chapter) centered around Add(s). Yaoi alert, although it would technically be shounen-ai due to lack of smut and explicity. **

**I think I have a thing for 1****st**** Job Adds.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword.**

* * *

><p><strong>Alternate Universe. (AU)<strong>

**PT x AT**

* * *

><p>It was around 5 o' clock in the late afternoon when Arc first sensed it. A feeling that made his eyes twitch and ears heat up. A feeling that tingled the back of his neck and gave him the urge to walk faster. A feeling that…he was being watched.<p>

But no matter where he looked, Arc could not pinpoint the origin of the stare. So he clutched the straps of his bag tighter and walked briskly towards the bus stop, blatantly ignoring the sounds of his blood rushing in his ears. Less than forty seconds later, he had swiped in a Metrocard and was standing on a rumbling bus, surrounded on all sides by other students as he tried his hardest to ignore the thudding in his chest.

It happened again the next day. And the day after. And the day after that. On the short walk between his school and the bus stop, he would feel the same stare burning into the back of his head. He had grown accustomed to the feeling of sweat accumulating in his palms as he walked through that side of the block. Biting his lips became a habit of his, something that he didn't really notice until one day he tasted the metallic tang of blood on his tongue.

Arc told himself over and over that he was just imagining it. That there was no one really out there watching him. That the drum-like sound of the blood in his ears was just because of the warm and sunny weather. But no matter what he did, he couldn't help shrinking into his jacket every time he strolled down that side of the block.

He once made the fatal mistake of not wearing a sweater. After having a drill sergeant Phys Ed coach forcing him to run forty laps during the last period of the day, he was sweating and panting for breath as he wobbled his way to the bus stop. Wearing something over the sticky T-shirt that already clung to his figure would be unbearable.

At least, unbearable until he reached that part of the block again. His sneakers padded softly on the cement as he walked, making himself busy by wiping the perspiration on his face and constantly licking his lips, which had suddenly gone dry upon stepping on that familiar path again.

Instead of feeling the usual warmth though, he was struck with a bolt of cold fear. Icy tendrils of fright trailed down his back as if someone had stabbed his flesh with an icicle and was twisting it. Arc had stopped walking immediately and took his spare sweatshirt from his bag, clumsily trying to put the damn piece of cloth on without accidentally ripping it in half. With his teeth chattering unusually in the warm weather, he boarded the bus and was barely able to hold onto his Metrocard without dropping it another dozen times.

He didn't go to school the next day. His friend- no, _acquaintance_- Elsword, called him up while Arc lay in bed underneath two blankets.

"Hey Arc, are you okay?" Uncharacteristic worry laced his tone.

"I'm fine." Arc murmured into the phone, briefly wondering if it would be worth the trouble to hang up now and deal with the other's ranting the next day. He decided against it. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You haven't missed a day of school since kindergarten. If you're taking a day off, something's up."

"How long did it take your brain to put that information together?" The white-haired male drawled, rolling his eyes at the indignant noise from the other end of the line.

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am, jerk." Despite the irritated tone the other boy used, concern was still in his tone. "Whatever, I'll ask Rena to drop off the work you missed. Feel better."

"Alright." Arc shut off his phone and carelessly tossed it, watching the electronic device bounce gently on his bed near his blanket-covered feet. A sigh escaped his lips as a familiar chill ran through his body. He clutched the blankets closer to his frame and closed his eyes.

Vibrant pink eyes looked at the sleeping figure on the bed through the open window, silver hair flicking in the breeze as a dark clothed figure crouched in the shadows of a tree. A smirk made its way across the person's lips.

"I found you at last…"

The wind rustled the leaves overhead and dappled shadows danced across the figure's pale skin.

"Arc."

* * *

><p><em>Tap. Tap.<em>

Arc boredly stared at the slate-green surface of the chalkboard, watching the teacher babble on and on about something chemistry-related but not caring in the slightest. Chalk dust scattered into the air as the professor erased something and continued talking.

_Tap. _

The pencil in his hand flicked back and forth on the lined paper of his notebook, rhythmically bouncing up and down in tune to a repetitive beat in his head. The white-haired male glanced out the window with mild curiosity.

_Tap. Tap._

Some students were already outside, probably those lucky ones who had a shorter schedule or delinquents who were cutting classes. He could hear their lively chatter even from within the classroom. How he wished they could shut up.

_Tap. Tap._

Some strange teen with white hair and pink eyes stared at him from across the street, standing alone on the block where Arc's bus stop was. A smirk lit up on the other's face once their eyes met. Arc raised an eyebrow in response to the stranger's reaction.

_Tap. Tap._

The two teens maintained eye contact with each other for an uncomfortably long time. Arc narrowed his eyes-the other boy did the same. He looked to be about the same age as him, maybe slightly older. At the most, the other guy would be a few months older.

Why was he thinking about all this?

_Tap. Tap. SLAM!_

"Excuse me! Quit staring at the people outside and focus on your notes!"

Arc slowly turned to face his teacher, who had slammed a large book onto his desk very much like those stereotypical angry teachers in movies. He stared blankly at the professor and absentmindedly noted how purple the man's face had become.

"My apologies." Arc said in a flat tone, dipping his head ever so slightly. He poised his pencil tip over his notebook and realized with a quick glance at the board that he had missed about one and a half pages of notes. "I seemed to have spaced out. It will not happen again." He heard a snort from somewhere in the back of the room- probably Elsword's exasperated sigh at the way he casually admitted that he wasn't paying attention in class.

It was an obvious lie, but the teacher seemed to have bought it. The plump man waddled back to the front of the class after a grunt and resumed droning on about the theory behind nuclear energy.

When Arc looked out the window again for a split second, the strange boy with the white hair was gone. Where he had stood before, alone, was now a crowd of bustling people waiting impatiently for the bus.

A nervous feeling fluttered in his heart, but he ignored it in favor of rapidly jotting down the formulas that he had missed. His lips tasted like metal again.

* * *

><p>Tuesday was the day it all changed.<p>

Arc had edgily stepped into that part of the block again, a place where he nicknamed "The Zone" in his head. He gritted his teeth and walked briskly through the small group of students crowded around the stop, expecting the haunting feeling of being watched to wash over him again. Strangely enough, it hadn't.

Instead of being relieved though, he was surprised to feel apprehensive. Sure, it was a nice change to be able to walk to and from a place without feeling hunted. But he knew deep down, something was going to happen that day. His heart felt like a stretched rubber band- whatever was going to happen today would snap it and he would lose all sense of the situation in one go.

His hand shook as he swiped the Metrocard. The mechanical 'beep' noise seemed to echo in his ears as he pocketed the plastic card and faintly made his way to his usual seat on the bus. All the way in the back, on the seat above the wheel.

Students shoved past him in their haste to get into the already crowded bus, one kid stepping on Arc's feet as he went by. Muttering a sharp "Watch it" to the underclassman, he squeezed his way through the crowd and sat down, trying to calm his jittering nerves.

Stop by stop, the bus began to clear up as people exited. Arc remained frozen in his seat as the bus eventually emptied out to only him and three other people. He kept his eyes downcast as he took deep, steady breaths. The sound of the bus doors swooping open and the pattering of feet tipped him off to the fact that the last three people were leaving.

He was always the last person to exit the bus, due to him living only a block away from the very last stop. The familiar silence swept through the atmosphere, occasionally broken by the rumbling sounds of the bus in motion.

_Tap tap. Tap._

"Hello." Black boots appeared in his line of vision. Arc looked up in slight surprise.

"Hello." He said cautiously. His eyes fell upon a familiar face- it was the person that he saw while sitting in Chemistry class. White, wind-swept bangs covered one of the stranger's pinkish eyes as the male casually tucked his hands into the folds of his black skinny jeans. His leather jacket was as dark as the night sky. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Arc inquired in a semi-polite tone.

"Interesting to finally see you face-to-face, eh?" The other male didn't respond to his question, causing the seated male in front of him to arch his eyebrows in confusion. Arc wordlessly stared at the teen in front of him, waiting for an elaboration.

He didn't get one. The dark clothed male simply sat next to him, stretched his long legs out, and exhaled heavily. Arc twitched but did not comment, as the other person obviously did not want to talk anymore.

A ding rang out, signaling the last stop. Arc got up from his seat and was about to walk out through the open doors when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. He turned around in puzzlement.

The stranger looked at him with a strange glint in his eyes. Just looking at the expression on his face made Arc shiver slightly.

"My name is Add. Pleased to meet you, Arc."

"…Likewise." Not knowing what else to say, Arc hurried off the bus and made his way home, his back feeling unusually exposed as the public vehicle drove away. A thought suddenly struck him.

_'I never told him my name.'_

* * *

><p>Back on the bus, Add let the corners of his mouth twitch upwards as his gaze rested on the retreating figure of Arc as the bus drove away.<p>

"How amusing." He murmured to himself. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Add twirled a thin finger in his white hair and stared out the window until Arc was no longer visible.

At the front of the bus, the driver glanced into the mirror hung above his head.

He was positive that there was at least one more passenger on board before he left the final stop.

But the bus was empty with not a single soul in sight. The man shrugged and continued driving.

* * *

><p>It was awfully cold that night. Arc hissed to himself as he curled up deeper into his blankets, trying to keep the cold from nipping at his fingertips and toes. The white-haired male wondered if he should take out an extra blanket, but dismissed the idea once he realized he would need to step out onto the cold wooden floor in order to do so.<p>

He bit his lip, half expecting to taste metal again. His lips had been bleeding more often now, almost up to four times a day. Arc was pretty sure that there was something pretty wrong with that, but minor bleeding like this most likely wasn't serious. Or at least he hoped so.

As expected, the soft flesh of his lip split open and the familiar warm trickle of blood spread across the skin. He automatically swiped his tongue over the broken skin and winced as the bitter iron taste entered his mouth. Arc buried his nose deeper into his pillow and sighed, noting the fact that his cheeks were numb from the cold.

Was it even normal for it to be this cold on a summer night? Of course not. But for the sake of keeping his sanity intact, he refused to believe that the abnormally cold temperatures and the unsettling feelings of being watched were connected.

"It isn't your imagination you know." An amused tone rang out in his bedroom. Arc bolted upright in surprise, his pale clammy hands still clutching the blankets around his body.

There, leaning casually against the closet, was the person from the bus. His clothes were still the same- a black leather jacket and skinny jeans to match. He did seem to have some level of respect for invading a home without permission though- his boots were missing and instead his feet were clad in black cotton socks. Not like it made a huge difference though, it was like a serial killer greeting a person warmly before murdering them.

His name was…Add? Arc's mouth tightened into a firm line as he stared at the house invader with hidden hostility. Extreme suspicion would be a better word.

"Why are you here?" Arc broke the silence bluntly, his pink eyes staring intensely into the other male's matching orbs.

"I don't know. Why am I?" There was slight sarcasm in Add's voice as the teen stepped closer to where Arc was sitting up on his bed. The dark clothed teen leaned in uncomfortably close to Arc, eliciting a small gasp from the student as he edged away.

Trapped against the headboard and Add's body, Arc attempted to kick the other person away and ended up tangling himself in the sheets. He flinched when cool breath hit his ear.

"I came for you, of course. It's been a while…Arc."

Arc's eyes widened in shock as his mouth open and closed, yet no words came out. He felt Add smile against the crook of his neck and tensed up.

"I've missed you."

"I don't…I don't know you." Arc choked out, on the verge of panic. His sweaty palms gripped the bed sheets underneath him as the other person pressed closer to him.

"Think. Think really hard." It was no more than a whisper from the other teen. "You will remember."

"After all…you and I are the same person, no?"

* * *

><p><strong>Woot! End!<strong>

**As you can sorta tell from the beginning and ending, the idea sorta changed (okay, maybe it changed a lot) as I wrote it. The beginning was basically me delving into the stalker-like nature of Add's character, but the ending was semi-inspired by my other Add fic ****Adding Colors****. **

**And also, shout out to Metrocards. Again.**

**Those of you in the Fanfiction skype group will understand the inside joke.**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


End file.
